Nouveaux Élémens des Mathématiques, ou Principes Généraux de Toutes les Sciences, Qui ont les grandeurs pour objet. Vol. I

1689

De Beer Fb 1689 P

Paris: André Pralard

Jean Prestet’s (1648-1690) textbook Elémens des Mathématiques is a pivotal work that encapsulates the progress of knowledge, and immortalises France’s contribution to the mathematical world. Prestet’s decisive rejection of geometry in favour of modern algebra was indicative of a societal move towards the knowledge of modernity. Elémens crucially includes a proof of Descartes’ rule of signs, with this revised and expanded edition providing early modern work on the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, as first indicated by Euclid in c. 300 BC.